The present invention relates to medical devices. More particularly, the invention relates to a temporary vena cava filter that can be percutaneously placed in the vena cava of a patient having biodegradable characteristics.
Filtering devices that are percutaneously placed in the vena cava have been available for over thirty years. A need for filtering devices arises in trauma patients, orthopedic surgery patients, neurosurgery patients, or in patients having medical conditions requiring bed rest or non-movement. During such medical conditions, the need for filtering devices arises due to the likelihood of thrombosis in the peripheral vasculature of patients wherein thrombi break away from the vessel wall, risking downstream embolism or embolization. For example, depending on the size, such thrombi pose a serious risk of pulmonary embolism wherein blood clots migrate from the peripheral vasculature through the heart and into the lungs.
The benefits of a filtering device are known, however improvements may be made to effectively and reliably capture thrombi in a body vessel.